The Potato-Crop
1st June 1938
Potatoes are the most common crop the farmers grow round this district in the village of Tavanaghmore, Parish of Straide in the Barony of Gallen.
They set them in ridges and in drills. The following is the way they set the potatoes in ridges: -
They first turn a line of sods one side and about a yard from that they turn another line of sods. Scoring that is called. There is a clais between every two ridges. The farmer puts yard-manure on every ridge, he some-times puts lime on them. The children leave the slites, and the men cover them with clay.
When the potatoes are a few weeks set, they are moulded. After two or three months they are sprayed.
The drills are about half the size of the ridges. With a plough and horses, they are made.
There is a sod standing each side. These drills are much the same shape as the top of a house. There is yard-manure in between each drill in it are put slits. The horse and plough comes and splits the drill in two halves. The culture of the plough throws one half on the slits. They split the other drills and let one side of it fall on the slits that is one drill closed. This is continued until they are all closed.
When the stalks are coming up through the clay they are moulded by horses with ploughs.
They used to have wooden ploughs 20 or 30 years ago. There are none of them to be seen now.
“INFORMANT: Mrs Ruane, Age 50, Tawnagh More, Co. Mayo”